Marrakech hosts FTA awards ceremony, without Lebanese winner this year

For the first time since its creation in 2018, the Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA) incubator has not crowned a Lebanese candidate. Some of them were among the nominees, but luck did not smile on them, while previous editions sometimes saw a red-white-cedar tsunami on the organization’s podiums. It would be interesting to focus on this exception. Have these young talents who helped make Beirut an informal capital of fashion, at the forefront of trends, given up? Has the cursed loop of Covid, the double explosion of August 4, 2020, the economic collapse and now the war defeated their ambitions? Have they scattered across the world, deprived of the spark that made their city so magnetic? The question arises and does not fail to worry, while we would like to believe that their momentum is still present and that they are preparing for what comes next.

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Non-profit organization, Fashion Trust Arabia, which rewards each year a range of talents from the MENA region in all fashion categories (evening dresses, ready-to-wear, jewelry, accessories), in addition to a beginner talent prize in memory of the former editor-in-chief of Vogue Italy Franca Sozzani and a prize awarded to a designer from a country in the spotlight, to which is added in 2024 an award given to tech fashion, was born from the success of Fashion Trust UK. Launched in 2018 under the patronage of Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, honorary president, with co-presidents Sheikha al-Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani and Tania Fares, its mission is detection, financing and development fashion and accessories talents from the Middle East and North Africa.

The FTA awards finalists for 2024. Photo DR

Fashion Trust Arabia therefore held its sixth ceremony in Marrakech, at the iconic el-Badi Palace, as part of the Qatar-Morocco Cultural Year 2024. Reiterating its commitment to supporting the region’s next generation of fashion talents , Sheikha al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, President of Qatar Museums and Co-Chair of Fashion Trust Arabia, welcomed guests alongside Tania Fares, Co-Founder of the FTA. A brilliant evening, hosted by actress Angela Bassett and Egyptian actor Ahmad Helmy, featured distinguished guests such as Alton Mason, Aya Nakamura, Balqees Fathi, Carla Bruni Sarkozy, Da’vine Joy Randolph, Evan Ross , Farida Khelfa, Halima Haden, Hande Erçel, Helena Christensen, Imaan Ammam, Jameela Jamil, James Blake, Jodie Turner-Smith, Isabelle Huppert, Lucien Laviscount, Nadine Njeim, Natalia Vodianova, Nicky Hilton, Paloma Elssesser, Paris Jackson, Precious Lee, Richard E. Grant, Taraji P. Henson and Yasmine Sabri among others. Sophie Ellis-Bextor took to the stage to perform her greatest hits.

A prestigious jury for a generous prize

The winners were selected by a prestigious jury of industry experts, during the deliberation day which took place at Beldi Country Club. The 24 finalist designers presented their collections in different categories: ready-to-wear, evening wear, accessories, jewelry, the Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Prize, the Guest Country Prize (in partnership with Spain) and the brand new Fashion Tech Prize. They were scrutinized by designer Amina Muaddi, Arnaud Vaillant & Sebastien, co-founders of Coperni, Ben Gorham, lawyer and model, Charles Rosier, co-founder of Augustinus Bader, Duran Lantink, creator of Giambattista Valli, Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia de l’Attico, Guram Gvasalia, creative director of Vetements, Han Chong, founder of Self Portrait, IB Kamara, editor magazine chief Dazed and creative director of Off-White, Laurie Stark, creator of Chrome Hearts, Olivier Rousteing, creative director of Balmain, Rachid Rachid, president of Valentino and Balmain, Remo Ruffini, CEO of Moncler, Ruba Abu Nimah, designer from Moncler, Wayman & Micah, celebrity stylists, Yoon Ahn, co-founder of Ambush, as well as fashion designer Zuhair Murad.

No less prestigious, the advisory board of the year 2024 included reference personalities, such as Beka Gvishiani, founder of the fashion news Instagram account Style Not Com, or the jewelry designer Gaia Repossi, or even Sofia Guellaty, founder and creative director of the trends site Mille World.

Each winning designer receives a cash prize ranging from $100,000 to $200,000, as well as a one-year personalized mentorship program provided by FTA’s retail partners and a global network of industry professionals. This comprehensive support covers essential topics in fashion business development, including sustainability through mentoring from Maison De Mode. Additionally, winners in the ready-to-wear, eveningwear, accessories and jewelry categories will have their collections distributed to Harrods internationally and Ounass in the MENA region.

Sylwia Nazzal, hooded jacket inspired by Palestinian tradition. Photo DR

Winners and stories

The final selection crowned, in the ready-to-wear category, the Egyptian Nadine Mosallam, and in the evening wear category, the Egyptian Yasmin Mansour. For the accessory, it was the Egyptian Reem Hamed who won the prize. On the jewelry side, Saudi women Noura Abdulaziz al-Saud, Sara Naif al-Saud and Mashael Khalid al-Saud stood out. The Franca Sozzani prize for emerging talent was awarded to Palestinian Sylwia Nazzal. As for the Fashion Tech prize, it was won by the Jordanian Batoul al-Rashdan. Finally, the Prize for the invited country, this year Spain, was won by the tandem Francisco Barroso and Javier Garcia, founders of the Acromatyx label.

3D corset inspired by Dead Sea salt crystals by Jordanian Batoul el-Rashdan. Photo DR

Nadine Mosallam, founder of Nadine Mos, her women’s clothing brand launched in August 2020, is based between Cairo and London. It focuses on the care taken in tailoring that follows the natural curves of the body. Her discipline and inspiration come from her Egyptian heritage, which the designer uses to create a playful and personal interpretation of the notion of “home”.

Yasmin Mansour founded and based her brand in 2014 in Qatar. Since then, it has aimed to redefine fashion and luxury through an avant-garde approach combining high-quality materials, inventive layering and conceptual design. She frequently collaborates with other brands to express her vision and passion through a common goal.

Reem Hamed is an Egyptian designer, born and raised in Cairo. She is the founder and creative director of RAMLA, a local shoe brand founded in June 2017, at the age of 25, with the aim of reviving a lost culture and empowering women artisans. It was during her training in Florence that she discovered her admiration for the leather shoe industry. One of the promises kept since the beginning of the company is to revive a dying craft while introducing a comfortable and timeless product made in Egypt.

Behind the brand APOA (A Piece Of Art), Saudi women Nora, Sara and Mashael al-Saud merge culture, architecture, art and travel to create jewelry that is both precious and organic, carrying emotions .

A budding talent, Sylwia Nazzal founded Nazzal Studio, a pioneering brand at the intersection of fashion, ethics and activism, deeply rooted in Palestinian heritage and resistance. The brand became known with its graduation collection, “What Should Have Been Home”, created in 2022-2023. Nazzal Studio collaborates with refugee women and advocates community empowerment rather than mass production.

Winner of the tech fashion prize, Jordanian Batoul al-Rashdan explores the adaptation of organic shapes to clothing and ornament through 3D printing. Inspired by fascinating phenomena, such as the crystallization of sand on the Dead Sea, she reinterprets them into innovative textures.

Models from the Spanish designers of the Acromatyx brand. Photo DR

Finally, the Acromatyx brand, founded ten years ago by the Spaniards Francisco Barroso and Javier Garcia and winner of the Guest Country Prize, advocates research in model making, the affirmation of the authenticity of artisanal confection, the study of volume distortion, ethical and sustainable product development, collaboration with local brands and artisans and the creation of pieces capable of moving people who identify with inclusive fashion, without labels.

All these beautiful people allowed Marrakech to live in the era of regional fashion and creativity, the main objective of this event registered under the “Qatar-Morocco Cultural Year 2024”, an official initiative of Qatar which has been taking place since several years in cultural collaboration with a view to strengthening the bonds of friendship of the emirate with the world.